Wire clip for fastening metal lathing to furring.



N0. {538,821. Patented Dec. [2, I899.

Y L. F. SYLVESTER.

WIRE CLIP FOB FASTENING METAL LATHING TD FUBBING.

(Application filed Aug. 18, 1899.) No Model.)

\A/ITIJESEES 5 INV N ENITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS FERNANDO SYLVESTER, OF WOONSOOKET, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THE EASTERN EXPANDED METAL COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSA- OHUSETTS.

WIRE CLIP FOR FASTENING METAL LATHING TO FURRING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 638,821, dated December 12, 1899.

Application filed August 18, 1899. Serial No. 727,690. (No model.)

To all ZUZLOWZ/ it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS FERNANDO SYL- VESTER, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Woonsocket, county of Providence, and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wire Clips for Fastening Metal Lath to Furring, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to metal-lath partitions and ceilings. Its object is to provide a device for securing metal lath to metal supports in a cheap, speedy, and durable manner. The device may be used to secure any metallic fabric to any acceptable form of furring or support, which may be angle-iron, T-iron, I-sectioned iron, or even straps or upright-s of rectangular section; but it is specially intended for use in securing expandedmetal lath to channel-iron furring, and I shall confine my description to its use in that connection.

Heretofore expanded-metal lath has been tied to the channel or angle iron furring by means of annealed iron wire or other soft wire, the workman passing the end of the wire througha mesh in the lath, around the furring, and back through another mesh of the lath the other side of the furring, and then twisting or tying the ends of the wire together and cutting them ofi a suitable length with cntting-nippers. The work of tying each piece of wire was necessarily slow. It was difficult to tie the wire tight enough to secure the lath to the furring with perfect rigidity, so that it would not-slip, and thewire tended to stretch and so to loosen the lath. Moreover, the twisting of the wire to fasten it weakened it and it frequently broke, making it necessary to do the work over again, and any wire which was light enough to be readily bent and twisted would rust out before the rest of the partition wore out and so weakened the partition, and the cutting off of the ends of the wire after it was tied caused great waste of material. come by my invention, which is illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a view of the C-shaped clip or fastener which comprises my device for se- These disadvantages are over-- curing the lat-h to the channel-iron furring. Figs. 2, 3, and 4 represent horizontal crosssectionsof a portion of an expanded-metal partition and views of the C-shaped clip in three positions, showing the manner of applying the samc. Fig. 5 shows in elevation a portion of an expanded -n1etal partition with the clips in position binding the lath to the furring.

The C-shaped clip is made of a single piece of stil'fly-resilient wire of anysuitable weight, having a straight branch a and its opposite branch at provided at its end with the hook o The branches at and a should preferably converge slightly, so that better advantage may be taken of. the resilience of the wire, though they may be substantially parallel. The back of the clip 1) corresponds in length to the depth of the furring which the clip is intended to grasp, and the length of the branch a corresponds to the breadth of the furring. The branch a may be of any con* venient length, but is preferably about the same length as the branch a.

1 is the channel-iron furring, and 2 is the expanded-metal lath.

The clip is applied as follows: The workman seizes the clip with apair ofpliers 3, the branch a of the clip being held lengthwise between the jaws of the pliers. The branch 0, is passed through a mesh of the expanded metal 2 adjacent to the channel-iron 1, as shown in Fig. 2. As the clip is pushed farther through, the hook passes through another mesh of the lath on the other side of the channel-iron 1 and into engagement with the outer flange thereof, while the branch at comes into position to slip around the channel-iron, as shown in Fig. 3. The clip is then swung, pivoting on the hook a into its operative po sition, as shown in Fig 4, where it snugly and firmly binds between its branches a and a the channel-iron l and the metal lath 2.

My device provides a fastener which may be applied with far greater rapidity than the old-fashioned wire ties, one which secures the lath to the furring with a firmness and rigidity never before attained and which removes any danger of the latter slipping, which may be of suflicient size to counter- IOO balance the evil effects of rust, and one in which there is no waste of material; but I believe the chief advantage is in the saving of time over the old method of fastening. Any slender pliers adapted to grasp the clip in the manner described and whose jaws will pass through the meshes of the expanded metal will serve as the tool for applying the clip; butI prefer to use a specially-designed pair of pliers with jaws of uneven length, which is the subject-matter of another application to be filed concurrently with this application.

WVhat I claim, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. A device for securing metallic lath to furring consisting of an integral stiffiy-resilient C-shaped clip the C having a straight branch and a hooked branch, the straight branch adapted to overlie the rear side of the furring, and the hooked branch adapted to fasten the lath to the furring.

2. A device for securing metallic lath to furring consisting of an integral stiflly-resilient C-shaped clip the C having a straight branch and ahooked branch the two branches slightly converging.

3. A device for securing metallic lath to furring, consisting of an integral C-shaped clip adapted to embrace the furring and lath without bending, the clip having a straight branch and a hooked branch.

+t. A device for securing metallic lath to f urring,consisting of a C-shaped clip adapted to embrace the f urring and lath without bending, the clip having a straight branch and a hooked branch, the two branches slightly converging.

Signed at Boston, Massachusetts, this 16th day of August, 1899.

LOUIS FERNANDO SYLVESTER.

Witnesses:

W. F. KEARNS, S. H. SWANsoN. 

